


Only Fools Rush In

by scarletdancer



Series: When I was Drowning (That's When I Could Finally Breathe) [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Best Friends, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/F, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lesbian, Lesbian Character, Love Confessions, Tumblr Prompt, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletdancer/pseuds/scarletdancer
Summary: It’s a trivial thing, to be in love with your best friend.Emma has loved her best friend Melanie almost as long as she's known her.  But she won't risk ruining the friendship for something that could be as temporary as a fling.  It's Valentine's Day, and the girls' talk of old crushes and exes has them questioning their feelings for each other.From the prompt:  "Have you every been in love?"Honestly this is just a very fluffy Valentine's OC work.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: When I was Drowning (That's When I Could Finally Breathe) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727548
Kudos: 12





	Only Fools Rush In

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, so I'm not expecting a lot, but this will be part of a series! I've got a second part already almost finished and I'm hoping to have it up in the next couple of days.

Emma woke up slowly. It was already light out, around 10 or 11 am. It was a Saturday. A beautiful morning for February. Emma stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, before turning her head to look at her best friend beside her. Melanie’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Listening to her soft breaths, Emma admired how beautiful Melanie looked when she was sleeping. Her dark hair was spread out on the pillow, surrounding her head like a crown. There were no creases in her forehead from worrying or thinking. Her grey t-shirt fell softly against her small frame. Melanie looked so calm and relaxed. It was almost funny, how peaceful she was sleeping compared to when she was awake. She always had energy, and was very rarely quiet or relaxed. Melanie was a hurricane, and Emma had been swept up.  
It’s a trivial thing, to be in love with your best friend. Emma was never bold in that area. She contemplated throwing caution to the wind and telling Melanie how she felt, but as she watched Melanie stirring, her nose scrunching as she started to wake up, Emma knew she couldn’t risk not having another one of these mornings. So she resolved to suffer in silence.  
“Morning, sleepy,” Emma said softly. Melanie rolled over to face her and frowned playfully. Emma captured a mental image of Melanie’s drowsy face.  
“Since when are you up before me?” Melanie teased. Emma laughed and sat up.  
“First time for everything, I guess. Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day, Mel,” Melanie sat up and faced Emma.  
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Em.”

Less than an hour later found the girls in the kitchen.  
“That is not how you make pancakes, Em. You’re going to kill us both,” Melanie said, watching as Emma covered her pajamas in flour.  
“Fine, you do it then. I’ll just watch.” Emma put down the mixing spoon and stepped away from the bowl with her hands raised, like she was caught committing a crime. She seated herself at the counter across from Melanie. Picking up her phone and shuffling her playlist, Emma watched Melanie cook out of the corner of her eye. Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ came on. Emma almost physically cringed at the irony.  
“I honestly don’t think I can salvage these pancakes. We might just have to have cereal,” Melanie said, and Emma frowned.  
“I wanted to do little chocolate chip hearts, though.”  
“Why?”  
“Uh, ‘cuz it’s Valentine’s Day, Mel, duh.”   
“It’s a stupid holiday, why do you like it so much? You aren’t even in a relationship,” Melanie questioned.  
“It’s cute, everything is pink. I don’t know. It’s better if you are in a relationship, but I still think it’s a nice holiday,” Emma explained.   
Melanie didn’t answer. She pulled two bowls down from the cupboard, and went to the fridge for milk. It was a few minutes before Emma spoke again.  
“Why don’t you like Valentine’s Day?” Melanie looked down into her bowl of Cheerios.   
“It’s just stupid.”  
“Mel…”  
“It’s fine, Em. Just a stupid holiday. I don’t think there’s anything special about it.” Melanie still didn’t make eye contact with Emma.   
Emma looked at Melanie for a minute, before she stood and walked out of the room, taking her cereal to the small living room. Melanie grabbed a few napkins and followed her. They ate their cereal in silence, facing each other on the couch in their usual spots.  
“I used to like Valentine’s Day,” Melanie started slowly. “A whole day for love? I thought it was beautiful. I used to be quite the romantic dreamer, believe it or not,” Emma laughed, and Melanie smiled softly. “I was 13 when I told a girl I loved her on Valentine’s Day. She backed away from me, said it was gross, said that I was gross, and we didn’t talk again. She did tell the whole school, though, and I didn’t have friends until we moved here. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my mom.”  
“Oh, Mel, I’m so sorry…”  
“Look, Em, I’ve always known who I am. I’m not ashamed of it now and I wasn’t ashamed of it then. I’m proud of who I am. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. So no, I don’t really like this holiday that much,” Melanie finished, finally making eye contact with the girl sitting across from her. Emma searched Melanie’s eyes, though she wasn’t sure quite what she was looking for.  
“Did you love her? The girl?” Emma asked quietly.   
“I don’t think so.” Melanie took a breath, “I don’t think that was love.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“For what? You didn’t do anything.” Melanie was fidgeting with her hands.  
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Emma paused, “I’m sorry you were alone.”  
Melanie looked at her for a long time. She admired Emma’s soft face and gentle expression, and the way her eyebrows were knit together in concern. She really was beautiful. It was a few minutes before Melanie pulled together the courage to ask, “Have you ever been in love?”  
Emma paused and chewed on her lip.  
“Yeah,” she said. “My ex boyfriend. Brandon. We were together for almost a year. I loved him, and I think he loved me.”  
“What happened?”  
“We just grew apart, it wasn’t working anymore, we both stopped making an effort to spend time together and got lost in our schedules. We ended on good terms though, and we still talk sometimes,” Emma said.  
“Oh.” Melanie paused, “Do you love anyone right now?”  
Emma looked carefully at Melanie. She pretended not to notice how close they had gotten to each other during the conversation. The pale freckles spread out over Melanie’s nose and cheeks were more noticable, and the little flecks of green in her soft blue eyes stood out.   
“Yes,” Emma whispered. Melanie’s face adopted a strange expression. It was almost a mix of sadness and longing, maybe even jealousy, but Emma just convinced herself it was Melanie worrying about having to share her best friend.  
“Mel, do you love anyone?” The girls were only inches apart at this point. Melanie could feel Emma’s soft breath on her own face and could hear Emma’s heart pounding fast.  
“I… I think I do…” Melanie breathed. Her voice was soft. She reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. Her hand trailed down and rested on Emma’s neck.  
“Em…” Melanie started.  
“Mel…”  
“Can I kiss you?” Emma’s breath hitched, and she nodded ever so slightly. Melanie closed the distance between them slowly, tilting Emma’s chin up just a little bit.  
The kiss was everything. It was fueled by months of pining and longing. Emma’s lips felt like they were on fire, and she felt intensely excited, as if she was seeing fireworks for the first time. Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears, and she could feel her pulse all the way to the tips of her fingers.  
Melanie had never felt more sure of anything in her life. It was a kiss worth waiting for, and Emma was like coming home after a long journey. The kiss was a kind of love Melanie never thought she would have, a kind of love she was told she would never have over and over again. Emma loved her.  
They pulled apart slowly. Emma blinked a few times, as though she wasn’t sure if it had really happened. She analyzed Melanie for a moment, before taking her face between her hands and kissing her again, this time more aggressively.  
Suddenly, Melanie didn’t hate Valentine’s Day anymore.


End file.
